For Lady Gaga, attending an awards show is not just about showing up and having a good time. For her, it's also about making a statement. And, many times, that statement is tied to the many, many wardrobe changes she makes throughout the night. That, of course, includes the MTV Video Music Awards, where Gaga will be in attendance Sunday night.

For her first VMAs, in 2009, Gaga made four costume changes, one of which included her seemingly bleeding onstage during her performance of "Paparazzi." Then, in 2010, she might have had three costume changes, but her most memorable was her Franc Fernandez-designed meat dress.

"When I came to VMAs that year, it was not perceived as performance, it was perceived as costume changes," she recently dished to MTV News. "My seat is my seat. In the overarching scheme of pop culture, I hope to change what things mean and have them branch into other areas."

While no one knows what or how many outfits she will wear during Sunday night's show, she did share what her bottom line is: "I will be making a statement."

That mirrors what she said during "MTV First: Lady Gaga" earlier this month, where she shared that her celebrity is a big art installation. "I think something that's always been very important to me ... is that the fame as an art form has always been an interesting stage," she said. "It begins on the subway or in the car on the way here. It begins when I wake up in the morning and I take a shower. It's not something that is temporal. It has no end, so I'm excited to continue as an artist to push the boundaries of where pop music can exist."

This year, Gaga is up for four Moonmen including Best Female Video and Best Video With a Message for "Born This Way," as well as Best Art Direction and Best Choreography for "Judas." Also, she will open the show with the night's first performance.

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards will air live Sunday from Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following the Selena Gomez-hosted pre-show at 8. See the list of nominees, revisit last year's highlights and vote for Best New Artist by visiting VMA.MTV.com.